Qantas to outsource 850 local jobs to Accenture, mostly in India
· Business · BBC News, The Guardian, ABC News (AU)
Qantas will outsource 850 local corporate jobs to consulting giant Accenture with most roles moving to India as the airline fast‑tacks AI investment. The job cuts will begin mid‑July 2027, starting with finance, procurement, people and marketing roles shifting "mostly" to teams in India and "some in Australia." CEO Vanessa Hudson cited the "scale and speed of change in technology and AI" and said the airline is modernizing its IT systems. Qantas spends over AU$1 billion a year on technology and has more than 1,000 legacy applications that need to be redesigned and simplified. The company said the work taken over by Accenture will be "transformed further with automation and AI" in time. The airline, which employs about 28,000 staff in Australia and another 4,000 globally, already uses AI daily in many roles. The Australian Services Union has been contacted for comment.
Why it matters
The outsourcing will affect 850 Australian corporate employees, many in finance, procurement, people and marketing, by shifting their roles to Indian teams starting mid‑2July 2027. The move reflects Qantas’ push to modernize its aging IT systems and accelerate AI adoption, potentially reshaping job security and skill demands for local staff in the airline’s corporate functions. The broader impact includes a possible acceleration of AI integration across Qantas operations, setting a precedent for
Read the original report — BBC News
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